Portable heart rate (HR) monitoring devices are commonly used in fitness related activities for weight loss, goal HR training, and general HR monitoring. Additionally, HR monitors (HRMs) may sometimes be employed by healthcare professionals for chronic and/or acute heart condition monitoring and/or diagnosis. Some HRMs include a chest strap which senses, receives and/or detects signals from a user's heart.
Portable HR monitoring devices typically are expensive, and in some cases are cost prohibitive for many consumers. A need exists for inexpensive and/or simplified HR monitoring systems.